Most of us have been taught that goals must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. It works for project management — but let’s be real: it’s flat. SMART gives you clarity, but it doesn’t give you energy. It feels very clinical with boxes to tick but no sparks to ignite.

While scrolling (yes you can sometimes hit on some nuggets), I discovered Helen Hasdell also known as the contest queen.

She was a Texas housewife in the 1950s who began entering contests at a time when slogans, jingles, and “25 words or less” entries ruled. Helen didn’t just win a toaster or a bicycle — she won big. Over the years, she claimed almost every major contest she entered: houses, trips, appliances, cars. At one point, she won so often that newspapers dubbed her “the woman who wins every contest she tries.”

Her secret? SPEC:

• Select It — choose clearly what you want.
• Project It — visualize it as though it’s already yours.
• Expect It — live in anticipation, not doubt.
• Collect It — receive when it shows up.

Helen went beyond contests. She connected her method to metaphysical teachings, bridging expectancy with universal law. To her, it wasn’t luck — it was alignment. Choose. Project. Expect. Collect. Life responds to clarity backed by conviction.

Not long after, I was going through a Daily Om newsletter and found a course recommended for me – The ROAR Manifesto for Midlife Awakening – by Michael Clinton. It was described as a blueprint for your midlife awakening. This student was ready.

Clinton, once president of Hearst Magazines, built his own reinvention engine. His framework, ROAR, is:

• Reimagine Yourself — dream boldly about your “favorite future.”
• Own Your Numbers — face your current reality with honesty.
• Act on What’s Next — take intentional steps toward change.
• Reassess Your Relationships — evaluate who and what supports the life you’re building.

If I’m honest, I’ve always struggled with goals. The traditional methods — SMART goals, Paul J. Meyer’s Million Dollar Success Plan — never really worked for me. They felt heavy, forced, and somehow disconnected from the way my life was unfolding.

Because here’s what I noticed:

• I’d write an article, and without trying to pitch or sell, someone would reach out with an opportunity.
• I’d check in with a colleague, and the conversation would turn into unexpected work.
• People would call me out of the blue, offering projects I never formally “set a goal” to land.

The more I looked at it, the more I realized: it wasn’t my specificity that created results — it was my state of mind. My openness, my energy, my clarity of intention.

That’s why Michael Clinton’s ROAR and Helen Hadsell’s SPEC feel so right. They’re not about boxing yourself in with deadlines and measurables. They’re about creating a framework that’s expansive, intuitive, and alive:

• ROAR helps me reimagine, own, act, and reassess.
• SPEC reminds me to select, project, expect, and collect.

Together, they reflect what has always worked best for me: less pushing, more alignment. Less forcing outcomes, more living in expectancy.

My Idea Mashup: ROAR + SPEC

A thought surfaced – what would happen if I combined both Clinton and Hasdell’s formula. This is what I came up with:

• Reimagine + Select It — dream boldly, then choose with clarity.
• Own + Project It — face your reality while projecting what you want to become.
• Act + Expect It — move forward with expectancy, not pressure.
• Reassess + Collect It — adjust your relationships and celebrate what arrives.

This mashup feels like the engine I’ve been missing. SMART was about ticking boxes. ROAR + SPEC is about staying in flow — expanding, aligning, expecting.

Going forward, this is what I’m Going to be Experimenting With

Going forward, I’ll be using ROAR + SPEC as my personal and professional framework for goal-setting. Not rigid “objectives,” but living practices. I want to see what happens when clarity of vision meets expectancy, when structure meets energy.

Because maybe the point isn’t to “set” goals at all. Maybe it’s to design a life that keeps expanding.

Strategic Reflection Prompt

Where in your life are you still trying to manage goals like a checklist, when what you really need is a dynamic engine that combines structure (ROAR) and expectancy (SPEC)?

If your goals feel flat, let’s talk. In a Clarity Conversation™, we’ll explore the one question that transforms rigid targets into living, breathing intentions — and creates the space for alignment and expectancy to do their work.